Line #5 Fridge/StarControl


1	[[AC:FridgeBrilliance]]
2	* The Ur-Quan and The Words. It always seemed nonsensical to me that The Words ("Hold! What you are doing to us is wrong. Why do you do this thing?") would affect the Ur-Quan so strongly, when a similar phrase ("Why do you wish to enslave us?") doesn't do anything. Then it hit me: the Ur-Quan (both Kohr-Ah and Kzer-Za) know, deep down, that what they are doing is unjust and unreasonable. The Words are a direct challenge to their ideals, and force them to confront this fact. The Words make them feel ''guilty'', and their subsequent explanation is as much them trying to justify their actions to ''themselves'' as to the speaker of The Words. A simple question does not hold the same challenge, which is why they don't react to it.
3	** Also remember that the Ur-Quan have a racial genetic memory, they talk about their ancestors howling in the chambers in their mind when you have the Dnyarri in your cargo hold for example. By repeating the very first words that ever gave them pause, spoken by their friends, you're triggering the memories of thousands of years ago, making them see you as ancient friends, instead of just another sentient begging for mercy.
4	* The Ur-Quan impounding the Syreen ships instead of scrapping them seems like a major case of fridge logic-until you realize that they might have wanted to pick the Psi-technology apart to figure out how it works and more importantly, how one goes about defeating it. After all, [[MindRape psionic]] attack likely holds special terror to the Ur-Quan, owing to that race's history.
5	** And the ships being impounded rather than scrapped or analyzed immediately also makes sense; presumably the R&D department saw their budget slashed when the Doctrinal Conflict broke out.
6	** Alternately, it is a case of PragmaticVillainy, why throw away perfectly good ships that you [[ChekhovsGun might find useful later]]? If nobody else knows where you have them stashed, [[TemptingFate what are the odds that they'll ever be used against you later anyways?]]
7	** Also, the Kzer-Za may allow conquered peoples to change their minds about being fallow races and become battle thralls instead. We know from the Spathi that they don't allow battle thralls to become fallow races, but they might allow the reverse.
8	* If you fly to the Umgah Homeworld without a Taalo shield, the Dnyarri on the planet psychically compels you to fly into Kzer-Za space to be exterminated - except if you explain what has happened, the Kzer-Za will let you go on your way with a warning. This seems odd... until you know [[ChekhovsGun what the Kzer-Za may have done under psychic compulsion.]] They [[PetTheDog feel sorry for you.]]
9	* The Druuge treat themselves as things to be exploited, to the point where it's stated (and a part of their gameplay mechanic) that under-performing crew literally get thrown into their ships furnaces to be used as fuel. Now realize that the Druuge's appearance consists of disturbing ape-like arms, a piggish face, eyebrows that look like devilish horns, chains that literally keep them tied to the ship, and finally... a [[RedShirt red shirt with a triangle on it]]. All of the Druuge race are literally red shirts to be used and thrown away. Scary.
10	* The Spathi ship seems curiously powerful for a race of generally comically-portrayed cowards... until you realize that, as a race of cowards, it's completely logical for them to invest as much as possible in really big guns. Hayes even warns about the fact that they're {{Not So Harmless Villain}}s in his description of them.
11	** They're silly, not stupid. Fwiffo/some other Spathi, when you prompt him to give you stuff, gives you some advice: "Don't presume we are stupid." They became an atomic power within a century of their bronze age when given sufficient motivation. Remember, their best guns are rear-mounted. Away from where they're going.
12	** The Spathi are the only race besides the Ur-Quan and the Chmmr who are able to master the slave-shield technology. The Spathi are extremely smart.
13	* If enough time passes, the Pkunk will try to reconnect with their Yehat cousins; at the time, you get a message in the starbase that something very wrong has happened, implying they were wiped out. Sparking a revolution among the Yehat causes the Pkunk to turn out to still be alive at the end of the game... but this works even if the Pkunk have already been genocided! Which seems weird until you remember the Pkunks' [[AutoRevive special ability]].
14	* WordOfGod stated that the Ur-Quan were partially inspired by survivors of childhood abuse and how it could lead to odd behaviour later in life. Now consider that they're still descended from solitary hunters and may still have to actively fight the urge to kill anyone they meet and talk to. Consider that the Kzer-Za say that they plan to impose their social hierarchy, with themselves at the top, on any race they enslave. There's a serious risk that the Kzer-Za, the abused, may end up becoming abusers themselves (if they haven't done so already) - which can happen with abuse victims in real life!
15	** They clearly have done so already. One half of the Ur-Quan have set about enslaving the rest of the universe, while the other half have set about exterminating it.
16	* The mechanics of the choice between Ur-Quan battle thralldom and fallow slavery. The Spathi leadership had to choose between a black and a white rod to send back as a symbol of their choice. Earth, though, was required to decide by popular vote, and Hayes doesn't mention the rods at all. The thing is, the rods were easy to tamper with if someone along the chain felt like indulging in hijinks, with little to no recourse -- and so they were. After the Spathi incident, even if the Ur-Quan wouldn't admit the mistake, it's possible they decided to change to a method with less potential for sabotage.
17	* The Ur-Quan subspecies are ColorCodedForYourConvenience, which makes sense when you consider that they were altered by the Dnyarri, the species whose laziness is only matched by their evilness. Of course they would want to be able to tell what their slaves jobs are quickly and without much effort.
18	* When saying the Words to each Ur-Quan faction, the Kzer-Za response is notably shorter than that of the Kohr-Ah. The Kzer-Za’s Path of Now and Forever gives them an in-built justification for their actions and philosophy, because in their view they’re helping other species survive and prosper by enslaving them outside of just ensuring their own safety. Because of this, the Kzer-Za don’t feel the need to go as in-depth into their past to justify themselves. On the other hand, the Kohr-Ah only have their belief in reincarnation as a defense to why it’s okay to kill all other races, which by its very nature isn’t possible to outright prove, so they end up feeling the need to use their history in detail as defense for their actions.
19	* Why do the Kohr-Ah eventually win the war against the Kzer-Za? Well, the Kzer-Za have to expend a lot of resources, manpower, and focus in order to conquer other races, keep them enslaved, and stop any battle thralls from trying to rebel. This isn’t a problem for the Kohr-Ah, who can simply wipe out their enemy, recuperate, and then move on without any major loss of resources.
20	* The Ur-Quan refuse to tell lies, they say that lying is for the weak. What's the first thing the Neo-Dnyarri does when you meat him? Lie his psychic ass off. The Ur-Quan refuse to lie because it's a defining trait of their worst enemy.
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22	[[AC: Fridge Horror]]
23	* When the Pkunk return to the Yehat, they know what's going to happen, deep down. They're just between a rock and a hard place, and would rather be exterminated by the Yehat than the Illwrath.
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25	[[AC: Fridge Logic]]

Context Fridge / StarControl